


reunion

by aelescribe



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Roleswap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-19
Updated: 2016-01-19
Packaged: 2018-05-14 21:32:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5759584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aelescribe/pseuds/aelescribe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Oh, my name’s Steven, by the way! What’s yours?”</p><p>She doesn’t want to tell him she knows. That she’s watched him his whole life, sheltered him and watched him grow, cared for him so deeply; that this whole time, she’s been with him. It’s not time. She’s not ready.</p><p>“Pearl,” she answers curtly. Lapis’ song echoes through the ship again and she takes a breath. “This way!”</p>
            </blockquote>





	reunion

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a role swap au.

“Hey, are you okay?”

Pearl looks up and immediately wishes she hasn’t. Those eyes- she’s seen them so many times, but not staring solely at her. Her first instinct is to shield her face, and she does, she tries, but it’s too late. He’s already seen her. His eye is swollen, and she resists the urge to reach out to him. “Go away!” she cries, frustrated. “Please, just… just leave me alone!” She tries to rein herself in, suppress this harshness. This shouldn’t be the first time they meet. It’s too soon. Too jarring.

Instead, he steps closer. “Is this yours?”

In his small hand he clutches a red ribbon.

Pearl takes a breath. “How did you-”

“I found it down the hall. Here-” He reaches out for the field between them and Pearl shrieks.

“Don’t, don’t, don’t-!”

But his hand passes through without consequence. He lets the ribbon drop on the floor of her cell. Other than a small shudder, he seems fine. She narrows her eyes at the field and reaches out to touch it. It shocks her, as expected, and she yelps. She grips her sore hand and stares at him, bewildered. “Why didn’t it…?” She trails off, shaking her head. Now isn’t the time for questions.

“I’m looking for my friends,” he says. “Have you seen any other gems here?”

Of course she has. But there’s only one she can think about. Pearl is about to answer when a voice echoes through the hall. Soft, sweet notes drift through the air. “Lapis-” she chokes out, clutching the ribbon to her chest.

She doesn’t want to tell him she knows. That she’s watched him his whole life, sheltered him and watched him grow, cared for him so deeply; that this whole time, she’s been with him. It’s not time. She’s not ready.

Pearl takes a deep breath. “Please, help me get out of here. I have to find Lapis.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Who’s-”

“She’s all by herself! I have to find her! After that, I’ll help you find ou- I mean, _your_ friends.” _I’ll tell you everything, I promise. Just not yet._

After a long pause and a worried look around, the boy nods. He makes an opening for her by standing in the field. Pearl crouches down and slides through, pulling him away with her. Now that she’s gotten a closer look at him, she sees his darkened eye. “Are you all right, S- are you okay?” She almost slips up. Pearl tries to move past it, winding the ribbon around her wrist nervously.

He nods. “Yeah, I’ll be fine. Let’s go find your friend. Oh, my name’s Steven, by the way! What’s yours?”

“Pearl,” she answers curtly. Lapis’ song echoes through the ship again and she takes a breath. “This way!”

Pearl slows her pace only so she doesn’t leave Steven behind, and puts herself a few feet ahead of him. If they run into Jasper or Peridot, she won’t tolerate their hurting him again.

They round a corner and Pearl gasps at the figure huddled behind the field. She stops short when she realizes who it is. “You,” she mutters, narrowing her eyes. Back on the beach, it wasn’t hard to put together that Sapphire sold them out to Homeworld. She was the reason they were here in the first place.

Sapphire turns around and Steven rushes to her. “Oh my gosh, Sapphire!”

Pearl paces behind him impatiently, worrying with the ribbon around her wrist. She wraps and unwraps it frequently and ties it up in her hair several different ways. Lapis has stopped singing. Maybe something’s happened to her. Maybe she’s just too tired to sing. Maybe she’s being hurt or tortured or-

She can’t bear to think of it. “We have to go,” Pearl says, grabbing Steven’s shoulder. “Come on.”

Steven shakes his head. “But- Sapphire-”

Pearl releases him with a sigh “She’s not my concern. I have to find Lapis before something happens to her!”

She doesn’t want to leave Steven. She doesn’t want him to see her this scared or this angry. She doesn’t want him to see her at all. She wishes that none of this was happening.

 _Next time_ , she promises herself, turning back the way she came. _Next time will be different._

.~*~.

Lapis hates this confinement. She has no idea where anyone else is. And she’s so terribly alone.

She longs for Pearl. There’s a terrible dread in the pit of her stomach. Where there should be a hand in hers, filling the space between her fingers, there’s cold air. She clenches her fingers into a fist and sighs, curling in on herself.

Maybe Pearl has already regenerated. Maybe she’s being interrogated. Maybe they’re hurting her because she would rather die than betray her comrades, something Lapis knows all too well.

Lapis peers through her heavy bangs at the world around her. Beyond the field of energy are more and more empty cells. There has to be a cell somewhere that Pearl is stuck in. How can she let her know she’s alive?

Lapis coughs, takes a deep breath, and begins to sing. A simple melody, something easily recognizable between the two of them. It’s unnerving, only hearing her voice versus the hum of the ship’s machinery.

After a few measures, her voice drops off nervously. There’s no indication anyone has heard her. Maybe all her friends are already gone except her.

Lapis pushes these thoughts away and continues to sing.

When she hears footsteps, her voice fades again. The footsteps are heavy, almost shaking the ground. Lapis takes a breath as Jasper comes into view, eyes narrowed. “Cut that out,” she says. “It’s annoying.” If Jasper’s still monitoring prisoners, they must still be near Earth.

Lapis nods. Jasper goes off and, when Lapis is sure she’s out of earshot, starts up again. She sings even louder this time, hoping her voice will carry over to Pearl. _Please, be alive. Please. Please…_

“I told you to cut that out!” Jasper is back again.

Lapis folds her arms together. “Is it illegal to sing on Homeworld?”

She’s not sure Jasper is joking when she answers, “Yes.”

“Good thing we’re not on Homeworld, then,” Lapis replies with a shrug. She returns to her song, once again, more out of spite than anything. If Jasper decides to do something about it, she’ll have to remove the energy field, therefore giving Lapis a chance to escape and find the rest of her friends. So really, it’s in her best interest to leave her alone.

“So help me, you will skip prosecution to the fullest extent of the law and get your gem crushed as soon as we land if you don’t shut it!” Jasper hisses, leering at her through the field.

“Glad to know you’re doing your job,” Lapis says. Jasper growls, biting back a retort; however, Lapis heeds the demand and stops singing.

She starts humming instead. Jasper storms off.

The warrior returns almost as soon as she left. Jasper is arguing back and forth with Peridot for a while. As Peridot yaps her grievances, Lapis hums louder.

“Stop singing!” Jasper finally bellows, slamming her fist against the wall.

“ _Stop singing_!” Lapis mimics in a high voice.

Jasper storms off with another yell, Peridot trailing behind. Their arguing fades in the distance and she’s alone.

“I wasn’t even singing. I was humming. _Rude_.” Lapis laughs to empty air. Now that her fun is over, she’s starting to feel empty again. She tries singing once more, but doesn’t quite have the heart for it.

Tentative footsteps echo through the corridor and Lapis looks up. It’s not Jasper, and it’s not Peridot. There’s no way anyone could have escaped past the energy field, so who…? She starts to part her bangs in order to get a better view, but quickly lets them fall back in place when she sees him, holding in a gasp of surprise.

Steven creeps up to her cell, looking both ways, and leaning towards her. “I like your song,” he says. “Are you Lapis?”

“Yes. How did you get past the field?” Lapis asks, picking up her skirt as she stands. He knows her name. That means he met with Pearl. And if these two are alive, so are the rest of their friends, and their chances of escaping.

Steven shrugs. “I don’t know. I just kinda…” He put his hand through the wall of electricity. Lapis could see yellow veins running down his strained arm. Still, he made an effort to create a path of escape. Of course, it had to do with him being human. _Something_ about that made him impervious to Homeworld’s technology. That _something_ is their advantage, and the only thing that will save them.

Lapis crawls through the opening and dusts herself off when she stands. “Thank you, Steven!” she beams.

“You’re welcome!” he smiles. “Wait, how did you know-”

“Lapis!”

Lapis turns her head to the direction of the voice. Pearl. She heard her singing, no doubt. Her hope begins to peak and she starts laughing. Lapis grabs Steven by the hand. “Come on!” she insists, and starts to run.

She’s dragging Steven behind her, going as fast as she can, bare feet slapping against the cold ground of the ship. When they stop, he’s woozy, and she steadies him with her hand. She looks around wildly. Where is she?

She stops short when Pearl skids into view. Her gaze stops at Lapis and her mouth falls open.

“ _Pearl_!” They’re bolting for each other, hugging each other as tight as they can, refusing to part. Lapis almost sobs as Pearl’s hands rest on her back, curling protectively around her gem. She’s vaguely aware of Steven watching them, but she can’t focus on that now. All she can think about is Pearl.

“Did they hurt you?” Pearl asks, pressing a shaky hand to her cheek. The other remains on her back, stroking over her gem, calming her. Or perhaps Pearl needs to know that she’s real, that this isn’t a dream.

Lapis shakes her head. “No, I’m okay. Did they hurt _you_?”

“Who cares?” Pearl laughs, brushing her off all too easy. A few tears glisten in her bright eyes. This remark sends a shiver through Lapis. She cares too much to see Pearl get hurt, or think less of herself in favor of Lapis. Then again, sometimes, she feels the same way. It’s something they both have trouble with.

“ _I_ do,” Lapis says firmly. She kisses her cheek, her nose, and dries her tears. There is a moment of quiet.

Then Pearl grips her by the waist and lifts her into the air with ease, laughing. Holds her, beholds her. Lapis starts laughing too, hands steady on Pearl’s shoulders, trying to keep them both from toppling over. This isn’t graceful, not like they’re used to, but that hardly matters. They’re together. That’s all they need.

And all Lapis can hear is her laughter- and they’re closer than closer, glowing stars- and she smiles because everything is going to turn out all right-

They fade into each other. Pearl’s warmth encases her. A familiar rhythm, their very cores synchronizing together. And she’s Lapis but she isn’t, she’s Pearl, and their souls are bound into one.

Moonstone laughs as she lands, and gives the boy in front of her a broad grin. His eyes are wide with shock. “Steven… _thank you._ ”


End file.
